Erie man charged in assault, robbery

Sunday

Police accuse him of attacking a man and taking his cash during an encounter on Wednesday.

A man was seriously injured in an assault and robbery at an east Erie residence on Wednesday.

City resident Chester Burrows, 36, was charged by Erie police in the attack, which happened in the 600 block of East 11th Street early Wednesday morning. Officers who were called to the residence said they found the victim sitting in a chair inside the residence, semi-conscious, bleeding from the head and unable to communicate with police. There were large amounts of blood on the siding and steps leading into the residence, investigators wrote in the criminal complaint filed against Burrows.

Detectives interviewed the victim at the hospital on Thursday. He said he was at Burrows' residence and was outside with Burrows and another male, whom police did not identify, when he removed cigarettes from his pocket and money he had was made visible to Burrows, Erie police Detective Sgt. Christopher Janus wrote in the complaint. The victim said Burrows began fighting with him and he fell down the front porch steps, and while the victim was on the ground Burrows slammed his head on the ground and struck him in the head with a liquor bottle, according to the complaint.

The victim said he was also kicked by Burrows and the other male and was bitten on the finger by Burrows before Burrows and the other male carried him into the residence and attempted to place him in a chair, but were unable to. He said Burrows got a kitchen knife and told him to get onto the chair or he would kill him, Janus wrote in the complaint.

The victim said he climbed onto the chair. He told investigators he was missing $22 in cash.

The victim's injuries included a wound to the left side of his head that was closed with several staples, a cut above his right eye that was closed with numerous stitches and two missing teeth, according to the complaint.

Burrows was taken into police custody on East 11th Street on Friday night and was later arraigned on charges including felony counts of aggravated assault, conspiracy, and robbery. He remained in the Erie County Prison Sunday on $25,000 bond.

Tim Hahn can be reached at 870-1731 or by email. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ETNhahn.

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